Realists make good neighbours

Published: 17 September 2007

Many religious faiths entreat us to be good to our neighbours. That's a
bold demand to make of foreign policy makers, though, because history
tells us that neighbouring countries are often at each others' throats.
In peacetime, too, interstate rivalry is often at its sharpest between
neighbours. Such an appeal is particularly brave now. When it comes to
foreign policy, values are out of vogue. These days everyone is a
realist - Michael Fullilove